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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cue — a hint
  3. cue — for pool
  4. spring — of water
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cue — a signal
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — a trail
  11. stand — to bear
  12. tube — a container
  13. game — a match
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. game — wild animals
  16. spring — a coil
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. clip — to cut
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. spring — the season
  21. clip — a video
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. tube — the underground
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com